Dusk
by therealmnemo
Summary: Fenris is the jewel of Danarius' Aquarium. A kind soul helps him escape. Part two of 'You Better Start Swimmin' or You'll Sink Like a Stone.'


Fenris pulled his claws slowly and deliberately across the glass.

He watched as Danarius curled his lips in delight behind his desk while his business associate looked at Fenris with curiosity. Fenris did not know what caused this poor soul to end up in Danarius' personal office, but he did know the man wouldn't be leaving it alive. Danarius did not make special trips to Kirkwall for pleasure.

His master stood from behind the grand glass-top desk and offered his hand to the visitor to shake with a wicked smile about his face. He let the man think he was an honored guest, motioning towards the large aquarium that took up the whole southern wall of the office.

Fenris couldn't hear, but knew the words by heart. Danarius drilled the scenario into him daily, with long sessions in the Oracle's tank to make sure it stuck. He imagined the conversation as he watched Danarius' lips move.

"Stay will you? Ah yes, you must have noticed my pet. I only keep the most incredible deep-sea specimens in my aquariums. I know it's illegal to keep Mer, but I have some rather high-ranking friends in the local government here as well as the Chantry."

Fenris couldn't see hear or see the man's response, but it was enough to keep Danarius going.

"I do have other matters to attend to; but please, feel free to enjoy Fenris… he is, rather skilled." Danarius looked past the visitor to casually wave a hand at Fenris before excusing himself from the room.

Fenris pressed his lithe body against the glass, letting his markings glow to their full luminosity. The mark that remained couldn't tear his eyes away. His tail undulated under the man's gaze as he swam to the top of the tank. His clawed fingers curled over the edge as he spoke.

"If it would please you, I would enjoy your company."

It never ceased to amaze Fenris how fast humans could move with the proper motivation.

* * *

Fenris thrashed in the shallow tank, his hand clawing desperately at the runed collar around his neck. Panic flared through his mind and coursed through his body, setting his markings aflame. The metal scratched at his gills, almost distracting him from the sharp pain coming from the front of his tail. His nostrils flared as he bled into the water.

"We went over this, my little wolf. You must keep talking and hold them still until they stop moving. Otherwise this happens."

The man pushed against the bleeding slit on his tail. Fenris never knew pain like this before. If he had just executed his instructions properly this would not have happened. He had failed his first assignment and awaited his punishment in fear.

"They can't have their way with you Fenris, your kind is just not built for that. That voice of yours sets their blood on fire, they will do anything they can to you. You must talk them into the tank, let the pulse of your markings lure them to your body, and then keep them under the water. I thought to reward you tonight, but I think you need another session with the Oracle."

Fenris shook his head violently, refusing to look behind him. The shallow tank also housed a blind river Mer, chained around the waist and arms. Her long white hair flowed around her face like a ghosted halo. White opaque eyes fixed on a point in the distance. Her hands reached out, sensing another presence in the tank. Fenris shrieked.

Danarius fingered the runed Chantry cross around his neck. Such delightful devices. Everyone wore them in both deference and defense. Swearing their fealty to the Maker while 'keeping away the dangerous magic of the Mer.' It was all a crock of shit of course, it only afforded people such as himself to wear specialty runes in public. The cruel man laughed, the rune inset specially made from the Dwarven crafters to counteract the effects of Fenris' voice.

"No use hurting that beautiful voice, my pet. I have another business meeting to attend to tomorrow, and I need to you be perfect. It needs to look like they died of their own volition, Fenris, or the guards begin to sniff around."

Danarius used a long curved pole to push Fenris towards the blind Mer. She grabbed Fenris by his long white hair and pulled at him until both her hands curled under his chin. He felt the magic seep from her fingertips, felt his sight slip, and the nightmares commenced.

* * *

Fenris woke up in his own aquarium the next day. The jewel in his master's collection. There was a dull pain in his tail but he couldn't place where it came from. He observed his reflection in the glass that separated him from his master's world. His white bioluminescent markings faintly pulsed projecting a kaleidoscope of the purples, blues, and blacks of his scales along the white walls of the office.

He felt a vague familiarity of the scene playing out before him. A greying man in the Chantry's templar robes stood facing his tank as his master disappeared behind the door.

Fenris pressed his body against the glass and flashed his markings once more and the man simply looked sad. A memory of a sharp pain flooded him with adrenaline as he swam desperately to the tank's edge.

"If it would please you, I would enjoy your company." Fenris barked out the pleasantry. It did not require any extra finesse for his voice to do its job, but he worried about it nonetheless.

This seemed to only cause a deeper frown in the kind man's face. He walked to the ornamental ladder and ascended to the landing above. Fenris approached warily, unsure of how to proceed. The man pointed to the Chantry cross around his neck before holding out his hands.

"My name is Karl, and I've come here to set you free."

* * *

The false templar, Karl, explained what little he could as he carried Fenris through the halls of the Chantry Aquarium. Apparently, Danarius' office here in Kirkwall resided in the wing restricted to Aquarium personnel.

The Chantry sent out a special group of templars called Seekers to search the rivers and oceans for magical Mer. They were brought in for observation and experiments. Once they were thoroughly used, many were destroyed and stripped of their scales to be sold. A select few were 'tranquilized'. This process destroyed their higher functioning thought and reduced them to feral animals, just as the Chantry proselytized to their congregations. Those feral Mer were then put on display in the main tanks at the front of the Aquarium where they didn't live long.

Karl explained that he was a transformed river Mer, and that his runed Chantry cross prevents him from reverting back while undercover with the templars. He regrets not being able to save everyone, cursing someone named Elthina under his breath, and sets Fenris down to open a hatch on the wall.

He pulled off his necklace and wrapped it around Fenris' wrist before setting him inside the large chute.

"Keep this for yourself, I have more, it will help keep you safe. Just… just swim as far away as you can. Don't go back to where you came from, just keep swimming until you think you've gone far enough, and then go farther."

Unable to find the words to thank this man, Fenris merely returned a bewildered expression and a small nod before sliding down into darkness.

* * *

Fenris landed in the bay right outside the city of Kirkwall. He pushed ahead as the salt of the sea stung after being kept in freshwater for… however long ago he was captured. He couldn't remember. Karl warned about not swimming back to where he came from and he couldn't recall that either. For all he knew, he could be heading right back where he came from.

It wasn't long before he reached the shores of a village outside of the city. He did not want to be caught by anyone else, but needed a place to hide. He followed the coastline until he reached a long dock with a small boat bobbing beside it. The small cottage behind it was located far from the village, and there seemed to be no one around.

Fenris swam cautiously towards the dock when something on top of it stretched out and flipped over.

He submerged the last few feet before resurfacing directly below the dock. The space between the planks let him make out the form above him. Feet, legs, bright red cloth, a stomach, more red cloth, a Chantry cross pressed between a pair of breasts. A ringlet of black hair hung from the plank under what was a human female. Against his instinct, he reached out to touch the silken strand. He could protect himself here, he had his voice and his claws.

As soon as he pinched the strand between his fingers she shifted, deep blue eyes caught his own through the planks. He froze, forgetting his defenses, until the woman snorted in disgust.

"The Maker sure has a fucked up sense of humor. Let's see how much we can poke Marian Hawke until she snaps."


End file.
